Riverwalk Downtown

We spent yesterday afternoon biking to downtown and walking around Riverwalk. It was 5 miles to downtown, which wasn’t bad. However, once we got there we were stopped by the police. At a certain point Riverwalk changes from a bike and hike trail to only walking. Luckily the officer just gave us directions. We had to climb the stairs with our bike. We ended up leaving our bikes locked up near the cathedral with the hope that no one would steal a bike near a cathedral!

We walked from there along Riverwalk to the Alamo. The problem with all of this is that the whole area is full of tourists for the holidays and for an upcoming game. Most of Riverwalk was walking in a straight line passing a straight line of people going the other direction. The lines for the boats were long too. However, we found a restaurant and enjoyed lunch.

The Alamo was also too busy. The line to the ‘shrine’ was too long. We’ve seen it before and it certainly isn’t worth the wait for a second time. But we wandered around the courtyard.

Too many people, but the bike ride was good.

Morning Walks in San Antonio

I still love my morning walks / bike rides. There are two missions within a few miles of the RV park. The interesting part is that they aren’t really open this early in the morning. But the lighting is so great I can’t resist getting some pictures.

 

Riverwalk South

Everyone has heard about Riverwalk in San Antonio. We plan to go later to the downtown walk with restaurants, boats, and lights in the trees. But the part I like even better is the bike and hike trail that goes south of downtown. Our RV park is at the 5 mile point but it goes to the 10 mile marker. The path is pretty amazing with water faucets every mile or so. Bathrooms and maps are along the trail. They even have faucets with bowls to give your dog water. It’s a fairly flat trail. The river is designed to provide an environment that seems to be great for birds and fish.

John and I biked to the end of the trail to visit two missions. It ended up being a 10+ mile trip that included history, nature, and exercise! 

Texas Creatures

I’ve been going on my morning walks and seeing various animals. I saw a fox, but it was fairly far away and long gone before I could take a picture.

While I was on the plant walk, the leader talked about the Cochineal. This insect is encased in a web like cocoon on the paddles of the prickly pear cactus. It’s funny that I’ve seen this cactus for years and never noticed. Now I see these bugs everywhere. Anyhow, the little insects are carefully removed (it’s a cactus!), dried, and processed into a red dye called carmine that is used even now to color food and lipstick. Back in the 15^th – 17^th centuries, the dye was used for fabric. Since the insect only lives on prickly pear cactus, it could only be found in South America and Mexico area. The dye was highly sought after around the world along and even quoted on the London Commodity Exchange. It takes 80,000-100,000 insects to make a kilogram of dye.

Pretty much I see at least one deer during my morning walk. But they run away fast!

I haven’t seen any feral hogs lately, but lots of signs of them when they tear up the sides of a path.

 There were 14 turkeys in this flock.

There are two types of vultures here, black vultures and turkey vultures (in that order in the picture). For some reason they liked to stay in a tree near our campsite every evening. The second picture shows ~40 vultures in the tree. Can you say “creepy”!!!!

OK, these aren’t creatures. These are the rangers teaching us how to cook over the fire. Actually, we were just here for the monkey bread and casserole that they cooked!

Texas Plants

I’ve been having fun trying to identify more plants after attending a plant walk at the last state park. So, here are some of the things I’ve been learning:

Ball Moss is an epiphyte (air plant) in the pineapple family. This has been used in the past like Spanish Moss for stuffing or mulch.

I just like the looks of the lumps on the tree. I guess it is called the “toothache tree”. The plant numbs your mouth if you chew on the leaves or bark. I chewed on a stick for a bit and it does numb your mouth quickly with a taste like novacaine. Very interesting! 

This is just a good looking flowering plant called Texas Lantana or Calico Bush.

This has a bunch of names but the most common seems to be Turk’s Cap. The flowers and leaves are edible. The leaves are kind of boring like lettuce while the flower is sweeter. Both are supposed to be full of vitamins. 

Texas State Parks

First, if you are going to stay more than a few days at a state park, get a Texas Park Pass. They are fairly expensive ($70), but give you free entrance fees. These can be $3-7 per person per day so they add up quickly. Also, the parks aren't good at recycling. As an aluminum person, I hate that we've had to throw away aluminum cans because they don't have any method of recycling in the parks we've visited. Finally, showers are not great. Some are group areas to change with small showers. Let's just say we've seen better in state parks in other states.

Funny shower story…I was taking a shower where the water pressure was low so the water was only 8-9” maximum from the wall. As I’m showering, I hear something driving up and several people entering the bathroom to use the toilets. As each toilet is flushed, the water temperature stayed OK but the water pressure dropped so the water stream was only 3” from the wall. Then the toilets kept flushing. It was a bus of kids using the bathroom! I had to almost hug the wall to shower that morning.

Many of the state parks have programs on the weekends. We don’t attend too often, but they can be fun and there is also something to learn. This time we attended several of them including: archery, atlatl, geocaching, a bird walk, and a plant walk. All were interesting. The day after the geocaching one, I tried to find two geocaches at the park. I found them, but it took some time. One in particular took me almost 15 minutes with the smartphone app sending me both sides of the path. A few days later, I let John take the lead to find the same two geocaches. He found them within a minute or two. Argh!

We took a hike where you first have to cross the river. It was slippery, but we both made it without falling.

The water level is down, but there are signs of the recent flooding everywhere. This is a pile of debris quite a distance from the river.

Some of the trails aren’t open yet. This section has downed trees, the asphalt trail was washed away, and a damaged trash can.

Just because I like the picture.

Texas Holidays

Given that the temperature is in the 70’s in the afternoon, it is difficult to get too much into the Christmas mood. We’ve put up ornaments I had stored in a small box along with putting up the drawing of the tree our granddaughter gave us last year. Here’s another picture of the Christmas cholla with holiday colors.

This is mistletoe up in the trees in the park.

We spent a day in Austin. The traffic was frustrating but we stopped at the capital. School kids were performing Christmas songs in the rotunda. I can’t decide if they were amazing or just that the acoustics were amazing, but I love the music.

The Texas House of Representatives had a Christmas tree in the chamber plus the stairs were green so that counts as Christmas related!

McKinney Falls w/ the Falls

Last time we visited this park there was very little falls to it. The falls are definitely larger now. The recent rains damaged a portion of the park so that part is now closed. There is a trail across from the falls that can only be reached by crossing the water. Last time we could just step across without getting wet. Now we would have to walk through water.

I’m amazed at the things we’ve found this trip even though we were here before. The maps they give you don’t list everything that’s here. This time we found a sign directing us to this rock shelter.

On the internet we found a mention to “Old Baldy”, a large bald cypress tree. It is supposed to be ~550 years old and 103 feet high. It’s not on any maps and we found it only by searching online. They say that some tours will take you to this spot. We actually were close to it when we found the rock shelter but the area at the base of the tree is closed due to flood damage so it took a second trip to the area to find it.

Many parks have different programs. Sometimes we go, but we haven’t gone to any recently. This time I went to an archery class (I haven’t shot since 4-H camp in my youth). We’re going to a geocaching class tomorrow which should be interesting.

Errands

One of the problems about full-timing is getting things done that you take for granted when you’re in a permanent location.

- A full medical check-up is difficult since you have to make an appointment weeks in advance and you have no history with the doctor. Instead, earlier we stopped at a Florida Blue Center for a mini-checkup that includes blood pressure, cholesterol, and several other items.

- An eye exam can be quickly done, but we needed time to get new glasses (though some places can be quick).

- Christmas shopping can be difficult. You have to find what stores are near your location. Ordering anything on the internet requires staying at a single location for at least a week. I cheat when it comes to our granddaughter. I order things online and ship to Johnny and Jen. Then they get to wrap the presents!

- Mail requires knowing where you’re going to be about 5-7 days in advance (unless you want to pay the extra for next day delivery).

We’ve decided to stay for a few weeks at state parks near Austin so we could get new glasses and get mail.

The nights are now cold (30’s and 40’s) which is good for sleeping. The afternoons are in the 60’s which is good for hiking.

Pedernales Falls State Park

The water is down from the recent rains and flood. In the picture below, John is checking out a log that is 20-30 feet up in the tree. There was a LOT of water here recently.

These beetles were coming out of the sand. They are sort of pretty, but very scary. All I could think of was that scene in “The Mummy” with the flesh eating Egyptian scarabs. I can’t exactly identify them, but I believe they actually are a type of scarab.

I noticed the red and green of this cactus and couldn’t remember the name. Turns out it is Christmas Cholla. Makes sense.

The park has several falls to see, but the one called Pedernales Falls is quite fun. The section of the river has multiple small falls but you can walk and climb up and down the river bed to see the water eroded rocks. It was a fun afternoon.